Page 20 of Death Wish

“I will. I’d feel better if I knew whether DA installed cameras to spy on workers in the cubicle farm.”

“We’ll go in early tomorrow morning. I’ll check the farm for you.”

“That would be great, Jesse. Thanks.”

When they finished their meal, Simone helped him clean the kitchen and wash the dishes and utensils.

Jesse took the dishtowel from her and hung it up to dry. “Get started on your work, Simone. Do you need anything while you’re working? Coffee? Water?”

“Coffee. I’ll switch to water after midnight.”

“You got it. Where do you want to work?”

She nodded at the table. “This is as good a place as any. If I work in the bedroom, I’ll fall asleep.”

“Same here. I’ll prep the coffeemaker, grab my computer, and join you.”

Simone left the room and returned a minute later with her Fortress-issued laptop. She sat down, logged in, and dove into the work.

Jesse smiled as he prepared the coffeemaker. Although Simone wouldn’t appreciate him saying so, she was adorable in work mode. If he had the talent to draw, he’d fill sketch books with her funny expressions and terrible posture while she worked.

He retrieved his laptop and carried it into the kitchen where he set up across the table from Simone. That way he’d be able to keep tabs on her energy and fatigue level through the next few hours. She might prefer to work at night but she also had a day job for the moment. Simone needed to be sharp for both sides of her work on this mission.

When the coffeemaker finished the brewing cycle, Jesse poured two mugs of coffee and carried one to Simone.

“Thanks,” she murmured without taking her gaze from the screen.

After taking a sip of coffee, Jesse booted up his laptop and clicked on the icon for one of the Fortress databases. He entered Trevor White’s name and narrowed his eyes at the results. So, good old Trevor had a record. This guy had been in and out of jail since he was a teenager. What was Simone doing with this guy?

He read screen after screen, growing more angry as he went deeper into Trevor’s record. Simone’s ex-boyfriend was a real creep.

Jesse saw a link to a hospital report and clicked on it. He froze as pictures of Simone appeared on the screen. Didn’t take a genius to know what had happened to her. Trevor had beaten Simone so severely that she’d landed in the hospital for over a week. She’d filed charges against him from her hospital bed and the SFPD had taken care of the rest. They’d convinced Trevor that pleading guilty to assault and battery was a better deal than going to court and risking being found guilty of attempted murder.

At least Simone was given enough breathing room to pack up her belongings and move out of state while White was incarcerated. He’d meant what he said earlier. If Trevor showed up, Jesse would make sure he didn’t bother Simone again. He wouldn’t touch her.

Wonder if anyone would care if the abusive jerk disappeared permanently? Jesse sighed. Most likely, someone would miss him. Nothing could blow back on Simone.

“You okay, Jesse?”

“No.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Trevor White.”

She rolled her eyes. “He’s out of my life.”

Jesse’s eyebrow rose. “Really? Did I misunderstand you earlier?”

“No,” Simone muttered. “You didn’t. Look, he’s a jerk and a creep, all right? I know that. I learned from my mistakes and will never go down that road again with any man.”

“How did you meet him?”

“We grew up in the same neighborhood. Everyone assumed we’d be a couple since we dated off and on through high school. I just went along with it.”

“How long did you date him?”

“Three years.” She held up her hand. “I know what you’re going to say. Don’t bother. He wasn’t a bully in high school. Yeah, he was in trouble a lot but most of the guys around the neighborhood were exactly the same. No one thought anything of it.”

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